Silent Treatment
by juujuu
Summary: It's been three months since the defeat of Darkstar, and Lina and Gourry are back on the road. But what's with the silent treatment?
1. Ode to the unhappily married

Slayers does not belong to me. This fanfic, however, does. :D

Anyways, this will be my first multi-chapter fanfic. I hope you all like it, I'm still new at these. XD Thank you for reading and please no flames. I'll literally start crying. XD lol

* * *

Boredom just wasn't a strong enough word. In fact, there were no words to describe it at all. So finally, Gourry came to the logical conclusion to make up his own word for this particular situation: "zagoo". He wasn't entirely sure where the word came from, he just really felt like saying something with a "z" in it. Yes, a "z" is good.

After another few moments of torture, he decided that he had had enough.  
"Oi, Lina, it's almost midnight. Shouldn't we be sleeping or something?"  
They were currently sitting around a campfire.  
Lina sighed and rolled her eyes towards her long-time companion. "You can do what you want, Gourry, but I still have a few more chapters to read through-"  
"Can't you just do it the morning?"  
Lina slouched. He was right, she was pushing herself. But as we all know, this is Lina, and she hates admitting these kinds of things. So, she won't.  
"Gourry, I'll be fine, ok? Now go to sleep. I don't wanna have to deal with your whining tomorrow, too."  
"Bu-"  
"SLEEP OR SO HELP ME--!"  
"Sleeping!" and he did for fear of her wrath. She felt kind of bad. She'd been giving him the silent treatment the last few days, and even she wasn't sure why. When she did speak to him, it was only when she had too. Or to yell at him. Whichever was appropriate.  
-  
This whole ordeal had begun a few days ago. It had been three months since the incident with Darkstar, and they decided it was time to find Gourry a new sword. Speaking of which, he had been meaning to ask her why she stayed with him… Not that he complaining. After all, he WAS her protector. Maybe she forgot what she had said about stealing the sword of light?  
Lina looked at Gourry and sweat dropped. "Um, are you ok, Gourry?"  
Gourry blinked back into reality. "Wha-? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine! Just thinking."  
That got Lina's attention. "Oooh? That's new. And what were you thinking of, Gourry?" She smirked thoughtfully.  
Silence.  
"….Gourry?"  
"I forgot."  
CRASH Lina recovered from her tumbled and just gave Gourry an exasperated look. _This guy…._

"Welcome! Welcome! How can I be of service to you today?"

They had entered a small town just outside the border to Zephelia (Lina dared not go any further) and had currently entered the towns weaponry shop. It was an old, shabby, wooden building with a sign out front which was in a serious need of a paint job. But nonetheless, the store had a good reputation and cheap prices, both of which were music to Lina Inverse's ears.  
"We're looking for a sword, a good one that can hold up for long distances and amounts of time."  
The woman in pink who had greeted them smiled. "Ah! Are you two mercenary's?"  
Gourry and Lina exchanged glances. "Well, we uh-"  
"Let me just get my husband! He can help you much better than I can!" The middle aged woman ran into the back room and some screaming followed. This was followed up by random obscenities and loud noises and explosions. Lina and Gourry just stared, only imagining what could be happening behind the sheet covering the door.  
A man in his 50's emerged, donning a grey beard and goggles with a pair of overalls to match. It was evident he had been making something. The bewildered smiths man looked at the pair and immediately nodded. "Are these the two, Marie?"  
"Who am I, one of the Darklords? Of course those are the two! You see any other customers around!" Lina and Gourry sweatdropped.  
The man turned to them. "Sorry 'bout me wife. Still can't say what on this earth made me marry her."  
"I HEARD THAT YOU UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF-" obscenities followed.  
The man mournfully looked to his customers. "S'ok," Gourry replied comfortingly. "Lina gives me a headache too."  
Lina took this opportunity to strangle Gourry.  
"So what exactly are you looking for, young lady?"  
Lina blinked and waved her hands defensively. "Ah, not me, him. He… lost his sword and needs a new one."  
"Preferably one of good quality," Gourry added.  
"Ah, I can tell by how well your muscles are toned that you must be an expert swordsman." Gourry shifted uncomfortably, which didn't go unnoticed. "Haha, relax, I was a swordsman in my day as well. I think I have just the right piece for you..."  
The two men found themselves in an conversation that could only be appreciated by two swordsmen. Lina, not really wanting to deal with their "man to man" time decided to check out the rest of the town.

Despite the old and shabby looking weapons shop, the town had a very welcoming atmosphere. The cobblestone streets were surrounded with homes and businesses, and people bustled through the market. In the distance, mountains could be seen along with fields of wild flowers (a trait of Zephilia and its surrounding countries, along with the vineyards of course.  
After managing to haggle (or rather fireball) for supplies, Lina decided to check out the local magic shop.  
A man in a white shirt and black slacks approached her. "See anything of interest, miss?"  
Lina turned and took a good look at the shop. "What kind of spells you got?"  
"Well what kind of spell you looking for?"  
Lina could already tell this guy was going to be annoying. Her eyebrow twitched. "Ok… got any higher level spells?"  
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we've run out of our stock with those. We have a few variations of the lighting spells in the back though."  
"No, it's ok." Lina, needless to say, was aggravated. Sure the town was "pretty" and "homely", but it had nothing to offer her. Maybe Gourry finally picked a sword?  
"Oh my gosh! That's awful!"  
_Eh?  
_"This is the third victim so far! Won't the mayor do anything?"  
_Oh? Sounds interesting._  
"Stupid bandits..."  
_BINGO.  
_"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear…" The crowd turned to look at Lina who currently wore a fox-like grin. "Did I happen to hear you say 'bandits"'?  
Two of the men among the crowd looked at each other. Finally one spoke up. "What importance is it to you?"  
Lina twitched again. This town was really getting on her last nerve. "Well, you see, Me and my companion can get rid of them for you! We specialize in that sort of thing you see, but of course, there'll be a price for our services..."  
A young woman in her twenties spoke up. "Oh, I wouldn't get involved with these bandits… They have a reputation for committing some heinous crimes."  
"Yes," said a man in back. "They've stolen countless of our livestock and raped three woman, the third was just reported. Unfortunately she was dead when we found her..."  
Lina blinked. _Hmm. A challenge might be nice…_ "So I'll just blow them up!"  
"And what right have you to say such things?"  
Lina turned and came face to face with a large man; fat, gluttonous, and repulsive. _Yikes, take a bath would ya?  
_"Who are you to challenge my men?"  
_AH! He must be the ringleader of the bandits! Lucky!  
_"Lina Inverse!" She smiled. The bandit blinked. The town freaked out. "Fireball!"

* * *

Liked it? Hated it? I'd love to know. >. 

-juujuu


	2. Blood Red Eyes

Chapter Two! Yay! And I don't own Slayers. >.>

* * *

Lina was angry. No, wait, not angry, she was _pissed off. _She defeated the so called "impossible-to-beat" bandits terrorizing the town when Gourry shows up in all his glory to help her finish the job. She was fine with that part. It was when he dragged her away before any award money could be negotiated that she was mad about. 

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT FOR!"

Gourry blinked, "Do what?"

Lina was about ready to pull her hair out. "I WAS GONNA GRAB THE REWARD MONEY!"

"Lina, can't you do anything for free, just to be nice?"

"NO."

"….."

"….."

"….."

"…..Geez, it's times like these you really disappoint me, Lina."

She couldn't say why, but those words hit a nerve. A big nerve. A big, emotional nerve. And it got to her so bad, she did the unexpected. She said nothing and settled for staring as he walked on ahead. _Since when does Gourry… talk to me like that? What is he, my father? Yeah! That's right! Where does he get off scolding me! OH THERE'LL BE HELL TO PAY-!_

"Lina?"

"FIREBALL!"

* * *

Truth be told, Gourry didn't leave early on because of the reward money. After purchasing a temporary sword, the man in the shop gave him a warning about some bandits. Now Gourry had already had a bad feeling about the town when he entered but neglected to say anything because Lina seemed a bit edgy, and he really didn't want to have to deal with her magic so early in the morning. But when he found Lina, she was demanding (or in her words, "asking") the frightened townsfolk for money to "repay her for her services". Usually Gourry would just let her have her way, but this time was different. He knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but his instincts were usually spot on. This time, his instincts were going crazy, and as her protector, he had to keep her safe. So he grabbed her arm and ran. 

Gourry, though as good as his instincts may be, was still unable to grasp the full extent of what they had stumbled upon. The townsfolk were not terrified of Lina, but of the bandit she had "killed". Three figures emerged from the shadows, and the townsfolk ran to their homes in search of shelter.

The tallest figure spoke in a hollow, deep voice. "Hey Boss, looks like the mouse took the bait."

The shorter, fatter one spoke next in a gruff, dark voice. "Indeed. And it seems she burnt it to a crisp. But you can fix that easily, can't you Boss?"

The man in the middle smiled wickedly and raised his left hand slowly and the "dead bandit" rose to his feet. "You know my puppets all too well, Leurc."

A fourth unknown voice spoke up. "Boss, think we can have a bit of fun?"

"Yes, please!" cried another. "I've been aching for a good hunt!"

"Why not? Knock yourselves out."

At the sound of approval the shadowed figures plunged into the town, and as the town burned and the blood spilled over with peoples terrified cries, the "Boss" could only smile through blood red eyes.

* * *

I hope you all like it so far. I know the first chapter seemed meaningless, but it was to serve as an opening for the bigger story. And to clarify, the bandit she killed was a puppet as mentioned above, not a real human. Reviews would be nice but please no flames. 

-juujuu


End file.
